Pipe-dredge.



T. J. LOVETT.

PIPE DREDGE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T. 4, 1909.

Patented Aug. 16, 1910.

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M@ @MM UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE. y

THOMAS J. LOVETT, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO BLACK SAND AND GOLD RECOVERY COMPANY, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION OE ARIZONA TER-l RITORY,

I PIPE-DREDGE.

Specification of Letters Patent. l Patented Aug'. i6, 1910.

Application led October 4, 1909. Serial No. 520,791.

To all whom it may concern.:

Be it known thatl, THOMAS J. LovE'r'r, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of Illinois, have invented a new. and vuseful Improvement in Pipe-Dredges, of which the following is a s ecification.

This invention re ates to improvement in hydro pneumatic dredges employing a dredging-pipe, means for directing fluid under pressure into the lower end of the pipe to operate as a lifting-jet, and means for producing a water-jet, or a plurality of such jets, at the lower end of the pipe to aid .the lifting-jet in gathering the material to be dredged and forcing it upward through the dredging-pipe.

My object is to provide certain improvements in the so-called pipe-dredge, described, with a view to simplifying its construction and improving*` its o eratlon.

A further object is to provide certain improvements in details to facilitate' the opera` tions, as in mining for example, of opening a path for the dredge-pipe down to bedrock and gathering in and raising values therefrom. In. the drawing-Figure 1,' is a broken diagrammatic View of so much of a pipedredge plant as is thought necessary to 1llustrate in the present connection, and showing the dredging-pipe, water and air-supply pipes and controlling valves; Fig. 2, an e'nlarged section taken on line 2 in Fig. 1; Fig. 3, a broken sectional View, illustrating the pivotal connections at the upper ends of the' water-jet pipes; and Figs. 4 and 5, enlarged broken and vertical sections ofthe lower end-portion ofthe dredging-pipe, the views illustrating, respectively2 the two different positions of the water-Jet ipes.

The entire dredging plant may e mounted upon a barge, or any other fixed or mov'- able support.

6, is a water main connected with a watersupplying pump; 7, a pipe connected with an air-compressor, and, 8, a discharge-pipe for the dredged material.

The dredglng-pipe, 9, may be of any suitable length, either in one piece or in sections jolned together. At the top of the pipe, 9, is an elbow, 10, connected through the medium of a flexible-pipe, 11, with the discharge-pipe, 8. The lower end of the pipe, 9, is serrated to form say three tapering projections, l12, "as indicated; and the lower end or foot-portion of the pipe|` is'provided withi'a plurality of perforations, 13,

of any desired number and any desired' shape forming a lgrizzly. Extending ongitudinally of and closely adjacent to the pipe, 9, is an air-jet pipe, 14, extendin tion of the pipe, 9, and having an upturned discharge-nozzle', '15, at thecenter of the into'the perforated footporv the said collars thel water-jet pipes areV swiveled to couplin pipes, 21, connected by means of exible ose sections, 22, with separate coupling-pipes, 23, communicating with the water-supply main, 6, and having valves, 24. The water-jet and air, or lift-- ing-jet pipes are held to the dredging-pipe,

9, by collars, 25, the collars also formingv bearings in which the water-jet pipes may turn.

Interposed in the pipe, 8, are valves, 2G, and, 27. A pipe, 28, extends from the water main to the pipe, 8, between the said valves, and is itself provided with a Valve, 29. The air-supply pipe, 7, is provided with the valves, 30, 31. Extending from the-pipe, 7, to the pipe, 8, is a connecting-pipe, 32, provided with a. valve, 33; 'and extending fromthe pipe, 7, to the pipe, 6, is a pipe, 34, provided with a valve, 35. The water-supplyl pipe, 6, has a valve, 36.

In operation, the dredging-pipe, 9, and

attendant pipes are lowered into the ground to be dredged, this movement being permitted by the .flexible connections" `11, 16, 22. The water-jet pipes are turned ontheir axes to adjust their bent lower ends into register with the openin s between the serrations, 12. i

lower ends in the outward direction, as

shown in Fig. 5. The valves 30., 31, are opened to cause air under pressure to play upward in the dredging-pipe and form a lifting-jet to'raise. and force the material entering through the openings, 13,. into and through the discharge-pipe, 8. lhe various valves are provided .for ldiii'erent contin-l gencies. For example, if the dredging-pipe should be gripped by surrounding materlal in such a way as to prevent its being lifted by the raising and loweringmeans with 'which it is equipped, the valve, 26, may be closed while the air-jet and water-jet pipes are open, causing all the pressure thereof to be exerted in the direction of raising the dredging-pipe. Furthermore, the escape of air under -pressure from the lower end of 'the dredging-pipe, 4up and around lthe latter, when the valve, 26, is closed, tends to free the dredging-pipe from the surrounding mav terialand permit it to be raised. If it is' valve, 26, may be closed, the valve, 27, I.

desired to clean the dredging-pipe, the valve, 27, may be closed, the valve, 26, opened, and .water or air, or both,' directed by means of the pipes, 28, 32, into the dredging-pipe. If it is desired to clean the discharge-pipe, the

When the water-jet pipes are turned to the position shown in Fig. 5, they play outward, forming a whirl of the material to be excavated, and driving it into the foot-portion of the pipe, where it is engaged and discharged by the air-lift.

In mining at bed rock, the streams from the water-jetpipes may be caused to play with great force over the bed rock, sweeping up the valuesand insuring their being gathered in and discharged. For mining operations,tlie pipe, 8, would discharge into a sluice-box, or other gold-saving appliance.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a pipe-dredge, the combination with a dredging-pipe having a. foot-portion provided with openings and anupturned lifting-jetpipe in said foot-portion, of a waterjet pipe extending adjacent to said footportion and having a bend toward its lower end, and rotatable on its axis 'to direct a water-jet to different angles with relation lto the dredging-pipe for the purpose set forth.

2. In a pipe-dredge, the combination with a dredging-pipe having a foot-portion pro vided with openin and an upturned lifting-Jet pipe 1n sai foot-portion, of a plurality of water-jet pipes extending adjacent to said foot-portion each having a bend toward its lower end, and being rotatable on its axis to ,direct a water-jet to different angles with rela-tion to the dredging-pipe, for the purpose set forth.

3. In a plpe-dredge, the combinatin'of a dredging-pipe having a foot-portion. provided with a plurality of openings, an upturned lifting-jet pipe in said footf'portion, and a plurality of water-jet pipesl extending 'adjacent to said foot-portion each having a bend toward its lower end, the water-jet plpes being rotatably mounted whereby they may be turned into register with openings 'in the said lfoot-portion, to jet in the direction ofeach other or may be turned to jet in directions away from each other, yfor the purpose set forth.

y THOMAS J. LOVETT. In the presence of- R. SCHAEFER,

J. G. ANDERSON. 

